So long, Coach, and here's a big 'bear' hug

Former UTEP and Texas Western head basketball coach Don Haskins kept with tradition, first removing his clip-on tie and getting comfortable before speaking to a sold-out crowd at the Don Haskins Center during "An Evening with Don Haskins".(Photo: Mark Lambie/El Paso Times)Buy Photo

The sports climate, social calendar and culture of El Paso were changed forever in August 1961 when Don Haskins, his wife Mary and family arrived in the Sun City.

The change was not just in the sports arena but in the arena of life. Texas Western College was the place of his employment but the real base of his work was the hard working people of El Paso and Fort Bliss. He made an emphatic debut in his very first year and continued on for 38 years of coaching excellence, leaving a legacy unmatched on the local, state or national sports scene.

The roll call of athletes under Coach Haskins over the years is impressive, not only for their athletic accomplishments while representing the university, but their solid contributions as citizens in cities across the United States. When you played for Haskins, you not only received a boost in your basketball IQ but also an enhanced IQ for life itself that a college education at the priciest college in America could not afford you.

One day in 1977, Haskins held center court not only coaching the men's basketball team as he normally did, but he also practiced the women's basketball team. His stern, yet gentle approach to the nuances of the game gave each of those women a doctorate in basketball in just one day with the lessons learned from the coaching master.

Just before that occasion, while walking into the Sun Travel Inc., I met Mary Haskins, his wife, a soft-spoken, warm-hearted and gentle person. Hours could pass in the day by talking with her.

She had the definite aura of being the first lady of basketball in the city.

In 1999, upon the 25th anniversary of the start of women's basketball, the team was introduced at a UTEP women's basketball game and even though the bright lights were set on that inaugural team in 1974, the women stated later, their best experience was a photo opportunity with Coach Haskins afterwards.

History books should be re-written -- just as the sports record books that Haskins' teams re-wrote over the years -- to reflect his ability to bridge generation gaps, empowering young people and educating them on life's intricacies.

His place among the leaders of the modern era is undeniable. Hopefully, the University of Texas at El Paso will place a statue of Coach Haskins in the arena that bears his name so children of today and those who cheered for his teams can have a place at the Haskins Center to remember those treasured moments.

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(Photo: El Paso Times)

Coach Haskins was named an inductee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997. As part of the induction process, many inductees host a dinner in their hometown with the proceeds going to a charity.

That spring, Coach Haskins called and said he would like the proceeds of his dinner to go to Midnight Basketball, a program started in 1994 by the Junior League of El Paso in coordination with the El Paso Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department.

Just the thought of this grand gesture by Coach Haskins was enough to last a lifetime. Although the opportunity did not work out, just his acknowledgement of a noteworthy program was enough to let those in the program know that the long hours were worth it.

There were other phone calls that came from Coach Haskins, such as when I was denied in the qualification process for the position of city Parks and Recreation director in 2002. Coach Haskins called to let me know to continue to stand by the youths of today and that kindness will be returned tenfold. He was right.

But the most vivid mental picture I have is from 1972. Upon returning to the United States from Okinawa, Japan, to attend college at UTEP, the first faces I saw upon deplaning were those of my brother Alvin, Don Haskins and James Forbes. Haskins and Forbes were getting ready to leave to compete at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.

There are many ways our city can continue to honor Coach Haskins. Longtime resident Jean Reilly has said a public school should be named after him. Currently, the former Downtown YMCA, recently bought by the city of El Paso, is being renovated. A fitting new name upon its opening would be the Don Haskins Recreation Center.

Just as the environment of El Paso changed on that August day in 1961 when Don Haskins arrived, it changed again Sept. 7 on his passing -- a husband, dad, grandfather and an icon of a man who was so much more than a basketball coach.

Our condolences to the family of this giant of a man.

So, goodbye Coach Haskins, we love you and embrace you one final time with our own personal "Bear" hug from the citizens of El Paso, Fort Bliss, UTEP, Sun Bowl Association, the state of Texas and the United States of America.

Wayne Thornton, a longtime supporter of community events in El Paso, may be reached at 373-6708 or wlegend@elp.rr.com.